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“If I have to give up Halloween to stay with you, then I can. But if I can get you to try it out, even just a little and meet me halfway, I’d be forever grateful.”
He nods in acceptance.
A secret smile widens across my face.
A few hours later a shirtless Whelan is chopping wood outside with his hair tied into a sexy man bun.
The sun starts to lower in the sky and I take the opportunity to dress up both babies in their cute pumpkin outfits. I have a great time getting them ready and take lots of pictures to send to Amelia. By the time Whelan returns, looking sexy and sweaty, I’m posing on the couch, wearing a witch hat and both babies are propped in their bouncers in their orange costumes kicking their feet with excitement.
“What is this?” he exclaims.
“Surprise! Come on, you have to admit they’re adorable.”
He chuckles. “Yes, they are.”
“Halloween doesn’t have to be about anything scary if you don’t want. It can just be dress up and candies. Or, it can be about making scary things, not so scary anymore.”
He bends down to examine each costume and he even touches the brim of my hat and smiles.
“Can we order pizza?” I question. “It’s something I like to eat on Halloween night. If we’re not going to have trick or treaters at least we can eat pizza and candy.”
“I’m never eaten pizza.”
“What?” I gasp. “This is a travesty I will correct immediately. First, can you hold Bran and Owen so I can take a picture of the three of you?”
“Let me take a fast shower.”
While he’s gone, I order pizza from the nearest town, which is an hour away.
Whelan returns in his normal outfit of unbuttoned plaid shirt, dark pants and boots. His hair is damp and around his shoulders. I can’t get enough of this powerful orc striding through doorways with barely enough head clearance for his sharp horns.
I take a whole series of pictures of the two pumpkin-orc babies in his lap. He takes pictures of me with the babies. And then we’re all four sitting together on the couch and I manage a quick selfie of all of us.
“How about some Halloween candy?” I dump my giant bag of every fun size candy imaginable into several bowls on the table. There’s so much it spills out and simply covers the tabletop.
“Crazy,” Whelan chuckles as he reaches for a Kit Kat.
I turn on a spooky movie on Netflix for some background Halloween atmosphere. And we stuff our faces with too much chocolate and each give a baby a bottle of breast milk. Eventually the sun has set and it’s dark outside. Urdan and Kelt arrive on a golf cart with the pizzas. Luckily I ordered a huge stack of large pizzas, as well as many liters of soda, so I’m able to offer them some too.
Kelt laughs so hard at me in my witch hat and the babies in pumpkin outfits. “Maybe Halloween isn’t so bad,” he admits.
“It’s fun!”
Another golf cart arrives. Whelan walks out front, proudly holding both babies and greets our guests. I’m tearing up because Rogan has arrived and he’s brought Miranda and Whelan’s brother Even with him—to meet Bran and Owen, but also to meet me.
I meet Rogan’s gaze and he winks at me and nods.
I’m quickly introduced to Miranda who is fifteen years older than me. She’s tiny and petite, blond with blue eyes and has a darling hint of a southern accent. We talk for a short time and start exchanging names of our favorite authors and book recs, confirming we’re like people and instant friends.
“Thank you for being so bold and kicking off Halloween,” she whispers. “There are some of us here who miss it a lot but didn’t want to push it. We’ve already been battling to get a nondenominational Christmas, Easter, et cetera from our mates. You should’ve seen the commotion over Thanksgiving. Plus, there are a few orc festivals you’ll learn about that are fun. I guess Halloween was down on the list after all of that,” she chuckles. “But I think we’re ready to upgrade.”
Suddenly a young orc boy is in front of me. “Are you really staying or are you just visiting?” he questions.
“Don’t be so rude,” Miranda gasps. “Sorry, Drew, this is my son Even, who can be a little forward sometimes.” She gives me a quick glance and responds. “Of course she’s staying. That’s why we’re meeting her.”
Suddenly the voices around me still. I look around and see Whelan, Rogan, Urdan and Kelt staring at me too, waiting for an answer. Jeez. Orcs must have serious generational PTSD from being left behind by human women. “Yes, I’m staying,” I confirm for everyone’s benefit. “I like it here.” I turn and look right at Even. “And I’m hoping that you and I can become friends.”
“Are you going to be my aunt?”
“No, I’m…I’m going to be your sister-in-law.” I’m even shocked, thinking about this. By staying here I’m essentially marrying Whelan. I glance over at him. Are we married already?
He looks away to answer a question posed by Urdan.
“I want to try out Halloween, but I didn’t wear a costume tonight because I don’t have one,” Even tells me.
“I’m already in costume,” Whelan quips.
“No worries,” I say to the boy. “This year is just a starter Halloween. Next year we can do it for reals and then you’ll be ready.”
I invite everyone inside for pizza and candy. The orcs are immediately smitten with the food I offer.
I stand next to Whelan as he tentatively tries his very first bite of pizza. He chews and swallows and then a huge smile brightens his features. “This is amazing,” he shouts.
Soon Rogan is on the couch, holding Bran in his arms, and Whelan in on the couch with Owen in his arms and Even sits between them. I take pictures because it’s a wonderful scene. Whelan and Rogan both beam with pride. It’s adorable. Family really does mean a lot to these orcs.
Miranda pulls me into the kitchen. “Listen. Now that you’ve told Whelan verbally you’re his Bride and you’ve told Rogan, the leader of the commune the same, and you’ve given birth to two sons—this gives you status here. You might not know this, but this cabin is yours now.”
“What?”
“Yes,” she laughs. “In reality, you could kick Whelan out at any time and he’d have to build a new cabin to live in on the other side of the commune. He stays here at your pleasure. He built this for you and your sons.”
“Oh, I like that.”
“Yes. Don’t think of living here as a place where women are treated as less than and we lose all our rights. That’s not true at all. I mean it is an orc society and there are much less of us than them, but we are important.”
“What about everything I own on the outside? I have a business that I can run from here and want to continue. How is that going to work?”
She winks at me. “I have a great accountant that knows all the legality of merging orc and human financial law. I’ll give you her contact info.”
“Thank you.”
Miranda gets pulled away by Rogan and Even to watch a scary movie on the TV. I turn around and spy Whelan sitting on the couch, eating yet another slice of pizza. Urdan and Kelt sit nearby, each holding a baby, complaining of being full. I laugh because I have a feeling we’re going to order pizza often.
And that’s when it hits me hard why I want so very much to stay at this commune. It’s not just that my attraction to Whelan is off the chart. Yes, Bran and Owen need to live here with him and I’m not leaving them. But I enjoy Whelan’s family. And I know he’ll continue to take such good care of our boys and any others we might have. He’ll never cheat on me or leave me. If I take him on, he’ll be mine, forever.
I love him.
Oh my gosh, I’ve fallen in love with the father of my babies. And it’s crazy how quick it happened.
Chapter 10
Whelan
Drew watches me from the kitchen.
I pause and look at her too. She has no idea how beautiful she looks with that fu